The films that William Grefé made in Florida feel sweaty and messy and filled with menace, just like the Sunshine State itself, the kind of place that could give you both the Happiest Place on Earth and bands like Deicide and, well, Creed.
This time around, Grefé is telling us the story of a group of three drug pushers who are no longer content to kidnap people and assault women. No, they're in for the big score, killing their Cuban drug suppliers, an act that puts them on a one-way ticket to the kind of horrible end that can only be found in a regional drive-in movie.
Daisy (Jeremy Slate, The Born Losers, True Grit),Acid (John Davis Chandle, who is also in Grefé's Mako: The Jaws of Death and Whiskey Mountain, as well as playing the lead bad guy in Adventures In Babysitting) and Dum Dum (Willie Pastrano, who Grefé hired for The Wild Rebels and The Naked Zoo) are absolute scumbags that spend the majority of this movie doing horrible things and talking as much as they can to pad things out.
Look for William Kerwin - who you may know from Herschell Gordon Lewis movies - shows up as an FBI agent.
The Hooked Generation
1968
Crime / Drama
The Hooked Generation
1968
Crime / Drama
Keywords: murderdrugsfloridaexploitation
Plot summary
About a gang of dope peddlers who sail out to meet a Cuban boat. The trouble starts when they are forced to throw their narcotics overboard and are seen by a young couple.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Tech specs
720p.BLU 1080p.BLUMovie Reviews
Scumtastic
Pretty watchable considering the budget.
William Grefe made quite a few films in the 60s and 70s that had practically no budget and were not exactly intended as high art! Instead, they were obviously meant as cheap drive-in fare but very undemanding audiences.
Considering that the film seems to have cost $89 to make and starred unknown yahoos, the film actually isn't that horrible. Well, it IS bad, but it is not nearly as bad as many higher budget films. On a "bang for the buck scale", THE HOOKED GENERATION actually is reasonably respectable.
The film begins with four dirt-bags on a boat in the Caribbean trying to make a drug deal with a group of men from the Cuban military. But, when the Cubans try to change the terms of the deal, the dirt-bags kill them. Soon, the US Coast Guard responds due to the smoke and they, too, are killed and the dirt-bags lose one of their men in the process. And, somehow, they also manage to kidnap two young people--a guy who really is pretty pathetic through much of the film and a sexy girlfriend who you know is there simply to be raped (which naturally occurs later in the film).
The movie is quite tense but also fails because there is little in the way of plot development or acting. It's just a bunch of junkies who kill people eventually being confronted by the world's dumbest agents! I especially couldn't believe the ending--no cops or FBI agents could be THAT stupid! Overall, a poor time-passer but at least you can respect the schlock-meister, Grefe, in his ability to do the most with incompetent actors, bad film work and not much of a script!
Dealing dope in Florida
A trio of scummy small-time drug dealers kill Cuban smugglers for a boatload of narcotics. Complications ensue when a young couple witness the evil threesome committing this dirty deed.
Director/co-writer William Grefe relates the enjoyably sordid story at a steady pace, maintains an appropriately seedy tone throughout, and delivers several exciting shoot outs along with cool bits of crazy violence. The villains are a spot-on slimy bunch: Jeremy Slate as laidback ringleader Daisey, Willie Pastrano as the brutish Dum Dum, and, in a gloriously crazed turn, John Davis Chandler as zonked-out hophead Acid. Moreover, Steve Alaimo makes a favorable impression as nice guy Mark, slim blonde Cece Stone looks really yummy as fetching damsel in distress Kelly, and ubiquitous Florida exploitation cinema regular William Kerwin pops up as an FBI agent. Gregory Sandor's colorful cinematography boasts a few funky visual flourishes. A fun piece of drive-in sleaze.